Theseus's Cultural Clash in the King Must Die

Summary: Reviews an adaptation of the legend of Theseus, The King Must Die by Mary Renault. Discusses Theseus's cultural clashes encountered along his journey. Reveals what happens when he endeavors to change the customs and break with tradition.

In the King Must Die, Theseus was portrayed as a hero. He traveled though different places and along his journey, he encountered with some cultural clash with the local customs.

At the harbor in Troizen, Theseus was irritated by the Cretans who insulted his people. They were harassing the oilman's wife. Certainly Theseus could not just observe what happened, he came and told the Cretan man not to annoy the woman. Because of this, he did not take a Cretan ship. In Theseus's culture, women were respected and he felt insulted when strangers from Crete behaved disrespectfully. Moreover, it was his homeland so it was reasonable that the aliens from another land respected the local culture.

In Eleusis, Theseus had to face with the fact that he would have to wrestle with the King and then become the King. He found that...